Subtle premonition
by richard the pedantic
Summary: A short fic about Cypher's visit to the Oracle. I forgot to say the following in the story so i'll say it now. I don't own the Matrix, that's why i'm depressed


I had a moment of inspiration. If it's been done before then I apologise to whoever for ripping off your work.  
  
Set before the Matrix one as you probably already know  
  
Subtle premonition  
  
By Richard the Pedantic  
  
I spent most of the time sitting in the waiting room listening to some annoying kid show me how to bend spoons with your mind. Maybe I was just annoyed because I couldn't do it. I didn't really see the point; with a little upper body strength you could just bend the things with your hands. Maybe that was why I couldn't do it with my head. The Matrix fucks with your head. It throws everything you know about the laws of existence out of the window, and I'd slept through all my high school physics lessons anyway.   
  
I guess spoons weren't really the point of the kid's message, to be perfectly honest I don't really remember a lot of it. I'd learned to tune out anything that sounded even remotely similar to Morpheus' endless bullshit about 'freeing your mind'. He never shuts up about it.   
  
It was another fifteen minutes, more or less, before the priestess or whatever she was told me the Oracle was ready to see me. The kid had long since gotten bored and moved towards the television that was showing some weird film about giant rabbits. So there I sat, counting the number of ceiling tiles and staring inanely at the door in front of me.  
  
Why exactly Morpheus wanted me to see the Oracle was a minor mystery. I was just another tool in his search for 'the One'. After hearing that story I quickly came to the conclusion that Morpheus spouted more shit in a single hour then a guy with the diarrhoea did in a week. Apparently, there's this guy somewhere who is the re-incarnation of the saviour of all humanity. Sound familiar? How the hell can that be true? It's a cheesy rip off of a bible story. This Oracle must have been talking out of her arse.  
  
"The Oracle will see you now." The voice was surprisingly loud in the silent room. I pushed myself to my feet and walked straight towards the door.   
  
She wasn't exactly what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected. Morpheus was his usual vague self on the way up here; he said that 'the Oracle was very old'. That was it. He was silent for the rest of the journey, no doubt trying to retain his aura of 'cool'.  
  
The woman in front of me, (if that's what she was), looked old sure, don't ask me why but I was expecting a hideously pale skeleton who spent her days sitting in a chair mumbling random shit. Instead I found a black woman in her late fifties, early sixties maybe. She had a cigarette in one hand and was staring at her oven.  
  
"Not what I expected huh?" She sounded like she was trying to break through the depression that seemed to cling to her voice.  
  
"Not really." I replied as I stepped through the door.  
  
She turned round and stared at me with a strange facial expression that I couldn't really describe. After a few seconds it was gone.   
  
"You still doubt it don't you?" She said as she sat down.  
  
"Doubt what?"  
  
"The Matrix, all this, the air, the table, the door, it all still seems real to you doesn't it?"  
  
"I…" I cut myself off, she was right, how the hell did she know that? Part of me instantly started thinking that maybe Morpheus was right; nah. She probably just read something in my face or something.  
  
"Yeah." I replied after a few seconds, "Now I've left it, I don't know, maybe it just looks nicer then where I'm living now."  
  
A short-lived grin emerged on her face. She pushed her cigarette into the ashtray and cast another glance over to the oven before turning to face me again.  
  
"You don't believe in the prophecy of the One."  
  
Again I was silent, how the hell did she know all this?  
  
"No." I said as calmly as I could.  
  
"You will." Her expression seemed to quickly alternate between a creepy looking grin and a look of sorrow. This whole thing was beginning to creep me out.  
  
I remained silent as she lit up another cigarette. I guess cancer wasn't really a problem for her if the vague information I'd overheard from everyone was accurate, (in other words; if she was immortal.)  
  
"Do you know why Morpheus sent you to see me?"   
  
"My guess is that he's trying to get me to buy into this prophecy thing."  
  
She grinned again; it then vanished, as if she'd just remembered that someone had died.  
  
"You see that," she gestured at a wooden sign hanging above the door. "It's Latin, it means, 'Know thyself.' Do you know yourself Cypher?"  
  
And again, there was silence. My brain quoting assorted features of my character, what my favourite food is, or was. In reality it never existed and now I was condemned to eating the same godforsaken goop for all eternity, Price of freedom I guess. Anyway, after a while I came up with the answer,  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That's good, you just keep thinking that."  
  
"What?" I couldn't tell if she was insulting or patronising me, or neither.  
  
"I'll say this," she blew out another puff of smoke, probably for dramatic effect, "when you start to believe in the prophecy, the one will begin to believe shortly afterwards."  
  
"Okay." My confused state of mind lengthened the word. I found myself repeating her words in my head over and over again to make sure I got the message right. When I was certain that I had it, I began to wonder what relevance this had to anything.  
  
"How'll that happen?"  
  
"Ah," she seemed almost nervous know, "I really can't tell you that, trust me, you'll know when it happens."  
  
There was another pause, shorter this time. I contemplated the Oracle's words for a few more moments, oblivious to the world around me.  
  
"Our time is up."  
  
"What?" I said as I snapped uncomfortably back to reality, or the artificial reality or whatever it was. Shit I'm starting to sound like him. Anyway. I got to my feet and left.  
  
Morpheus was in the waiting room. The spoon kid was staring at him from behind a book. I couldn't help but grin.   
  
"What was said, was for you, and for you alone." I hate it when he does that. The guy says nothing but assorted cryptic shit. We then returned to the cold decrepit reality that, to be honest, I was starting to regret living in. Oh well, I guess I'll get used to it sooner or later.  
  
Eight years and nine months later…  
  
"Believe it or not you piece of shit you're still gonna burn!"  
  
What the fuck?! No, It can't be, he's fucking dead! I fucking shot him! Shit! This is it, this is what she said. Holy shit, the Oracle was right! There was a miracle to stop me killing Neo, he's the one. Fuck, what have I done, FUUUUAHHHHHHHHHHHH!  
  
Fin  
  
Hope you enjoyed, feel free to review and cast forth constructive criticisms if you wish. 


End file.
